Sociology of the Fam

Given what you have learned about cohabiting unions and marriage, and drawing on evidence from the texts, which one of these family forms would you most prefer and why?

Coontz: - Economically difficult for one parent to support an entire family, even for the middle class, so having 2 parents means the family will have 2 incomes Bell: - Your family has the wealth and support of both your extended family and your partners - Your child will not be considered "illegitimate" by society, avoiding being ostracized Parsons and Bales: - You receive the support and benefits that come with having both a mother and father, whether that be economic, social, or emotional success

What has an important and consistent influence on attitudes toward marital dissolution?

Church attendance

Thornton notes that, "Several dimensions of social structure and personal characteristics are significant determinants of marital dissolution attitudes and attitude change." What are these dimensions and characteristics?

People's cognition for marital dissolution attitudes can be changed by social structure and what kind of era they live ( how older and younger people are accepting toward divorce differently)

What was the "modernization" of the family the result of according to Coontz?

the result of diverging and contradictory responses that occurred in different areas and classes at various times, eventually interacting to produce the trends we now associate with industrialization.

How have the marital roles associated with the traditional nuclear family altered over time?

- Concept of male breadminner and women hourswives ended - Today, mothers are in the labor market to almost the same extent as nonmothers, with the fastest increases occurring for mothers of young children

Why is there no longer one dominant family form in the U.S.?

- 2 parent hourholds on decline - divorce, remarriage, cohabittions on the rise - growth of single parent housholds - drop in fertility - more births outside of marriages - more moms entered labor force and became primary breadwinners in families

What is Laslett's main argument?

- Argues the context in which family activities occur - the private family is a modern development which has occurred only within this century in the United States

Group norms Duhigg claims are most consistently associated with higher productivity?

- Avoiding disagreement is more valuable than debate - Encourages differences of opinions - Enthusiasm for one another ideas - Withholding criticism - Encouraging people to take leadership roles or follow as they want - Allow everyone to be friendly and unconstrained - Leaders encourage people to speak up - Teammates feel that they can share vulnerabilities - They feel they can suggest ideas without fear - Discouragement of making harsh judgments

What according to Popenoe were the traditional functions of the family?

- Childrearing - provision to its members of affection and companionship - functions that have already been taken from the family by other institutions (government, formal education, etc) can in fact be better presented. - argues family is by far the best institution to carry out these functions, and that these functions are shifted to other institutions, they will not be carried out as well

What were some characteristics of European colonial families from 1600-1800?

- Colonies were characterized by larger disparities in the wealth and size of households. - Poorer colonists tended to concentrate in propertied households apprentices, servants, or temporary lodges.

Describe Glick's stages of the family life cycle.

- Couple gets married and has children - Children leave the house - Parents die

What is Spiro's main argument?

- Critiques Murdock's claims of the nuclear family - His study of the kibbutz proves that a family does not have to abide by the four functions listed by Murdock

What is psychological safety? Why is it important for groups/teams?

- Def: shared belief held by members of a team that the group is a safe place for taking risks - Important because members have confidence the team will not embarrass, reject, or punish them for speaking up, so they will feel more inclined to do so.

Explain the importance of emotional intimacy in family life according to Coontz?

- Emotional intimacy of family life became focused on marital bonds rather than monther-child bonds - So there was increasing emotional expectations of marriage, which increased the risk of divorce

Structural Functionalism

- Explains social institutions primarily in terms of functions they perform - Begins with observation that behavior in society is structures, and relationships between individuals are organized in terms of rules and patterns - Focuses on effects, such as effects of family on society

What is Cherlin's main argument?

- Family demographers need to rethink the types of statistical models they use to represent family life, since there are so many different types of family types and conditions

What are the principal functions of the nuclear family according to Parsons and Bales? Provide an example of each.

- Family should be a social group where child can "invest" all emotional resources, to which he can become fully "dependent" - regulated balances in the personalities of the adult members of both sexes

How might the new modern family achieve status in society according to Parsons and Bales?

- Family status achieved by occupational leader - In occupational world, status is achieved by the individual and is contingent on his continuing performance. - Occupation of husband-fathers job determines the social status of the entire family, as well as their income

What constitutes the "typical" family according to Glick?

- From its formation until its dissolution, a family passes through a series of stages, they go through a set of predictable steps that follow a general pattern

Cherlin argues that marriage in the United States has undergone a process of deinstitutionalization over the past few decades (article published in 2004)? Discuss Cherlin's view of the two examples presented.

- He mainly talks about same-sex-marriage, cohabitation and children from outside of marriage

What are the three key dimensions that constitute the strength of an institution, and explain why the family as an institution has weakened in each of these respects?

- Individual family members have become less bound by the group, so families have become less cohesive (less economic interdependence, decline in relationship between parent-children) - The family is less able/willing to carry out its traditional social functions (less time spent together) - Loss of power to other institutions (family has lost power to workplace, schools, and the state)

What are some key cultural, political, and historic events that impacted the American family of the 20th century?

- Industrialization and urbanization accelerated - mass communication network replaced the decentralized production of economic production - spread of mass schooling into the teenage years - abolition of child labor - growth of a consumer economy - gradual expansion of US international entanglement

What are the essential features of the structure of the American family kinship system according to Parsons and Bales?

- Isolation of the nuclear family - This "isolation" is manifested in the fact the members of the nuclear family, consisting of parents and their still dependent children, ordinarily occupy a separate swelling not shared with members of the family of orientation of either spouse

What is Coontz's main argument and conclusion?

- Most of the contemporary debate over family forms and values is not occasioned by the existence of diversity but by its increasing legitimation - Different family types are demanding social recognition and support for their existence Conclusion: celebrating diversity is no improvement over ignoring it unless we analyze the changing social conditions that affect families and figure out how to help every family draw on its potential resources and minimizes its characteristics vulnerabilities

How does the Kibbutz social group constitute an exception to Murdock's generalization concerning the universality of the family?

- Murdock says marriage= permanent sexual relationship and economic division of labor - But the Kibbutz don;t engage in economic activity that is not exclusively directed for the satisfaction or needs of their mate. Ex: - Women cook, sew, do laundry for entire community, not just mate - Men produce goods for entire community, not their mate

Popenoe claimed that, "Traditionally, marriage has been understood as a social obligation - an institution designed mainly for economic security and procreation. Today, marriage is understood mainly as a path toward self-fulfillment." (533) What does he mean by this?

- One's own self-development is now seen to require a significant other, and marital partners are picked primarily to be personal companions. - Marriage is becoming deinstitutionalized. - No longer comprising a set of norms and social obligations that are widely enforced. - Marriage today is a voluntary relationship that individuals can make and break at will.

What is multipartnered fertility according to Cherlin, and what are some of the consequences of this family experience?

- Parents who give birth to a child outside of marriage are much more likely to have children with a second partner than are women who give birth while married

What is Parsons and Bales' view of women in the American labor force?

- Predicted increased gender role segregation in the future - Women should take care of the house and meet emotional needs of children instead of participating in labor force.

5 keys norms Block claims matter most for members of groups/teams

- Psychological safety - Dependability - Structure and clarity - Meaning of work - Impact of work

What is Stacey's main critique of Popenoe's argument?

- Rejects structural functionalist view of family as an institution, feels it's better identified as an ideological, symbolic construct 3 major errors of Popenoe: - Family was not original unit of society, so to say its lost function is inaccurate - Mentions but doesn't analyze effects of economic transformation - Doesn't address different family types

What were the five great changes in family organization Coontz cites?

- Separation of home and work - Reduction of household membership to its nuclear core - Decrease in marital fertility - Extended residence of children in their parents home - Lengthened time in which husband and wives live together after their children leave the home - Reintegration of women into paid work outside the home

What is Reiss' main argument?

- Several cultures revealed that Murdock's four nuclear family functions were often missing - The nuclear family itself seems either absent or unimportant in some cultures

What are some "non-kinship structures" Parsons and Bales cites?

- States - Churches - Larger business firms - Universities - Professional associations

Which of the three main theoretical traditions is Talcott Parsons most aligned with?

- Structural-Functionalist perspective - Focuses on the family and its relationship to society - Argues family fulfills number of functions within society - Theory includes differentiation of gender roles within the family

Growth Mindset

- The idea that intelligence can be developed, brain is like a muscle that can be trained. - Leads to the desire to improve, learn, embrace challenges, learn from criticism, inspired by others success - Will improve and create a positive feedback loop, that encourages them to keep learning and improving - Example: Study for a test, do well, study again for the next test, do even better

Parsons and Bales wrote that, "The family has become a more specialized agency than before." What do they mean?

- There's a decline of certain features that were traditionally associated with families - But they don't think this represents a "decline" - They think it points to the relative stabilization of a new type of family structure in a new relation to a general social structure, but not in any general sense less important, because the society is dependent more exclusively on it for the performance of certain of its vital functions

• Parsons argues that major structural changes in social systems always involve strain and disorganization. Consequently, the family unit had undergone what Parsons describes as a "disorganization of transition." What are some changes in the family unit that Parsons points to as evidence of this transition?

- These changes linked with "loss of function" of the family - High rates of divorce, concentrated in the early periods of marriage and in childless couples. - Changes in the older sex morality - Decline in birth rate - Loss of closeness to extended kin

What was Collier's gender-specific critique of the Victorian evolutionary theorists?

- Victorian assumptions about gender were not abandoned in later functionalist schools of thought because sexist biases make it easy to forget that women, like men, are important actors in all social worlds

How are nonfamily households defined by the U.S. Census, and what are some examples of these households?

- a household maintained by a person living alone or with one or more persons to whom he or she is not related Ex: independent living before marriage, or non-marital cohabitation

What is Popenoe's definition of the family?

- a relatively small domestic group of kin (or people in a kin-like relationship) consisting of at least one adult and one dependent person

Coontz asserts that the, "experience of many families was literally 'whited out' in the 1950s." What was she referring to?

- battering, alcoholism, and incest, were swept under the rug - discrimination against african americans and hispanics, women, olders, gay men, lesbians, political dissidents, religious minorities and the handicapped - 30% of American children lived in poverty, higher figure than today - African American married-couples families had a poverty rate of nearly 50%, and there was daily violence in the cities against African American migrants from the south

What does familism refer to?

- belief in a strong sense of family identification and loyalty, mutual assistance among family members, a concern for the perpetuation of the family unit, and the subordination of the interests and personality of individual family members to the interests and welfare of the family group.

How did African Americans adapt African cultural traditions to their new reality as slaves of European settlers?

- colonists depended on African labor, so they had to accommodate for African culture - Native Americans adapted African cultural traditions to their new realities, using child-centred, rather than marriage-centered, family systems; - Creating kin ties, ritual coparenting or god-parenting, and complex naming patterns were designed to authenticate extended kin connections, all in the service of building kin ties within the interstices of the slave trade and plantation system

What are some of the major changes in the family that Popenoe highlights?

- decline of the family as a social institution - Families have lost functions, social power, and authority over their members - smaller in size, less stable, and shorter in life span - People have become less willing to invest time, money, and energy in family life, turning instead to investments in themselves - weakening of child-centeredness, rise of adult-only communities, massive voting down of local funds of education, growth of "no children allowed" attitude - Both in the political process and in the market place, children's issues have been ignored.

It wasn't until the 19th century that the word family came to commonly describe what type of group?

- describe a married couple with their coresident children, distinguished from household residents or more distant kin. - By end of 19th century, the restriction of the word to the immediate, coresidential family was so prevalent that the adjective extended had to be added when people wished to refer to kin beyond the household

Parsons argues that the family had undergone some positive changes in response to industrial development. What are some of these positive changes?

- economically easier for single women to support themselves independently than ever before - family becomes more of a residential unit in our society - added mobility by modern means of transportation, especially making possible the distance between home and work, has led to strengthening of the preference to have "home of our own"

What is Reiss' universal definition of the family institution and what sources of evidence does he draw on to support his definition?

- family institution is a small kinship structured group with the key function of nurturant socialization of the newborn - Sources of evidence: Cultures that were discussed were fulfilling the proposed functional prerequisite of nurturant socialization, and they all had some sort of small kinship group structure to accomplish nurturant socialization Example: Monkey examination - infant monkeys were raised by surrogate "cloth" and "wire" mother dolls Wire dolls had milk, cloth one didn't, infants preferred the cloth dolls without milk due to the softer contact and comfort.

What is nurturant socialization according to Reiss?

- family was defined as small kinship structured group with key function of nurturant socialization of the newborn - directly supports the personality system and enables the individual to become a contributing member of society - By making adult role performance possible, nurturant socialization becomes a functional prerequisite of society.

Explain some of the factors increasing mothers' participation in the workforce.

- have been attaining higher levels of education than men - increasing single-parent families, mothers are playing role of primary breadwinner -

What is a blended family and what are some examples of this family form?

- household with stepparent, step-sibling, or half-sibling - many remarriages involve blended families - Hispanic, black, white children equally likely to live in blended family, not common in Asians

What is meant by husbands being the "instrumental leaders" and wives being the "expressive leaders" of the family?

- husband's occupation is both a role in the occupational system and in the family. - Status of the family in the community is determined by the occupation he holds and the income he earns - Bearing and early nursing of children establishes strong relation of mother to the child, which in turn establishes presumption that the man, who is exempted from these biological functions, should specialize in labor

Cherlin writes, "Paradoxically, it is among the lower social strata in the United States, where marriage rates are lowest." (855) What are some of the reasons for this outcome according to Cherlin?

- marriage is form of social bragging about quality of couples relationship, powerfully symbolic way of elevating one's relationship above others in community

What cultural and material trends altered the meaning of marriage in the United States during the 20th century according to Cherlin?

- marriages where husband.wife worked outside the home - roles of husband/wife became more flexible - individualistic perspective on the rewards of marriage took root

Why does education and income matter to Cherlin when thinking about families?

- more people want to establish themselves in society by getting college degrees, so who one marries depends on education more than in the past. - Less likely for those without college degrees to get marries because of instability issues - Divorce has declined among couples with college degrees - Less educated and lower income couples are more likely to have kids before marrying

What are some shortcomings of Glick's article?

- only focuses on husband-wife families, excludes all other family types - assumes families have children 2 years apart - that marries couples now have more years of life remaining - doesn't consider the influence of divorce and remarriage

Popenoe claimed that, "...the value placed on the family in our culture, compared to competing values, has diminished." (537) What are these competing values and discuss their importance.

- self-fulfillment and egalitarianism - % of Americans who believe the family should stay together for the children has declined - fewer Americans believe its not important to be married, even if you have children

What trends does Popenoe observe regarding women's fertility?

- sharp drop in total fertility rate - idea and practice of childbearing among women rapidly lost populatity

What does Reiss mean when he says that (according to Murdock), "The four functions of the nuclear family are 'functional prerequisites' of human society?"

- that these functions must somehow occur for human society to exist. - without these functions creating the nuclear family, we would never have the nuclear family creating society

What is the definition of the "family" according to Murdock?

- the "nuclear" family is also universal, and that typically it has four functions: sexual, economic, reproductive, and educational - the functions served by the nuclear family are universal pre-requisites for the survival of any society; its on this basis that Murdock accounts for its universality

Reiss claims that one or more of the four functions of the nuclear family are not fulfilled in other societies. Name at least one of these non-conforming societies and explain why it does not align with Murdock's framework?

- the Nayar Community: Socialization = only from woman's side of the family, husband not included Sexual relations = multiple lovers Economic cooperation = very little b/c male is frequently away fighting Reproduction = multiple children from diff partners

Symbolic Interactionism

- the idea that through the social behavior of individuals that society can come into being at all. - Society is ultimately created, maintained, and changed by the social interaction of its members - Attempts to understand how individuals understand their social worlds, and how different people come to share a common definition of reality - Human beings communicate with one another by means of symbols, so interactions are based on the meanings that individuals give these symbols - Examines family at micro level compared to functionalism - Ex: The symbolic mechanism of rituals like family meals and holidays

Fixed Mindset

- the idea that you are the way you are and cannot change - these individuals still want to have a positive self-image, but see it as unattainable - Avoid challenges, give up easily, ignore feedback, feel threatened by others success - Example: Does poorly on an exam, believes they are stupid, does not see the point in studying

How does Laslett refer to privacy?

- the structural mechanisms which prohibit or permit observability in the enactment of family roles - how observable to the public are the roles of each family member

What type of women were more approving of marital dissolution?

- women who have greater potential for financial independence

What were some of the changes to the Native American family structure as a result of European colonization?

-Massive epidemics killed 60-90% of group embers - Devastated kin networks, disrupting social continuity - Heightened warfare elevated the role of young male leaders at expense of elders and women - influence of traders, colonial political officials, and christian missionaries fostered the nuclear family's growing independence from the extended household, kinship, and community group in which it had traditionally been embedded - Gender and age relations were transformed - Many groups were either exterminated or driven onto marginal land that did not support traditional methods of social organization and subsistence

Malinowski claims that the universal function of the family is to nurture children. He goes on to claim that there are three features essential to this task. What are these three features and why are they questionable according to Collier?

1) A bounded set of people who recognized one another and who were distinguishable from other like groups - Questionable: Zinacantecos of southern Mexico do not have a single word that identifies the unit of parents and children in such a way as to cut it off from other like units...The boundary between "houses" is linguistically marked, while the boundary between "family" unit is not 2) A definite physical space, a hearth and home - Questionable: Mundurucu of tropical South America where parents and children do not necessarily eat and sleep together as a family in one place 3) A particular set of emotions, family love - Zambia mother-daughter relationship is not always warm and loving. - Cheyenne Indians - mother was expected to have strained relations with her daughters, leading the latter to seek affection from their father's sisters.

Historical studies of family life can contribute two important points to Coontz debates

1) Families have always differed, so one family form or arrangement may be better in one socio-economic context, but the same should not be applied to another 2) families have always been fragile to rapid economic change, and need support beyond the nuclear family. All families experience conflicts and external pressures

What does Cherlin suggest about the future of marriage (3 alternatives)?

1) Return to more dominant, instituationlized form of marriage 2) current situation continues, marriage remains important, but not as dominant 3) marriage fades into just one of many kinds of interpersonal romantic relationships

What three themes characterized the beliefs about the post-1960-style marriage?

1) Self development, each person should develop fulfilling, independent self instead of sacrificing for partner. 2) Roles within marriage should be flexible and negotiable 3) Communication and openness in confronting problems

Laslett notes that, "there have been three major themes in discussions of the family across time." What are these three themes?

1)development of the isolated nuclear family in the more recent period compared to an extended family structure in the past (partially because of financial dependence) 2) growth of the companionship compared to the traditional family (marrying for love instead of economic reasons) 3) loss of functions by the family

What are the two transitions in the meaning of marriage Cherlin notes that created the conditions for the deinstitutionalization of marriage?

1st transition: from institutional marriage to companionate marriage, marriage was the only acceptable institution for sexual relations and raising children 2nd transition: individualized marriage (emphasis on personal choice) expanded, the cohabitation of intimate partners before marriage

What examples does Parsons point to when he cites the "loss of function" of the traditional family?

Clothing: formally made by family members in the home, now bought from outside agencies. Food: much less food-processing in household, great deal of commercial recreation outside the home

Describe the transition from companionate marriage to individualized marriage?

Compassionate: working together with partner to fulfill societal expectations. Emphasizes fulfilling gender roles to provide stability Individualized: flexibility of roles within the relationship to maximize satisfaction within the relationship and development of the self.

Noting some of the social, economic, cultural, and even legal changes since the 1950s, elaborate on why gender-role specialization is called into question as a fundamental aspect of the family institution. What evidence might you point to from the texts we've read to support your response?

Coontz: - industrialization after the civil war caused US families to adapt to the demands and tensions of industrializing society. - Families became smaller because children became more expensive, dynamic of marriage became more compassionate - Households could no longer get primary goods from he household, they needed to rely on readymade purchased goods. Even in middle class homes, couldn't afford single-income households, so women had to go to work Cherlin: - Women were postponing marriage but not postponing having children, causing more variety in family types

What is Disfluency? How does it force us to overcome information blindness

Def: To make something more difficult to absorb it, taking mass of information and forcing it through a procedure that makes it easier to digest - Forces us to grapple with data in front of us, manipulate information by transforming it into a sequence of questions to be answered or choices to be made - Example: Instead of choosing the house wine, you ask yourself questions like "white or red? expensive or cheap?"

How does Popenoe define the "traditional nuclear family," and what does this definition NOT take into account?

Def: family consisting of a heterosexual, monogamous, lifelong marriage in which there is a sharp division of labor, with the female as full-time housewife and the male as primary provider and ultimate authority Does NOT take into account: Any two or more people who happen to live together such as roommates or adults who merely have an intimate relationship of some kind

What three areas does Popenoe point to as evidence of family decline? Choose at least one of these areas and elaborate.

Demographic Decline: Decrease in size Institutional Decline: Individualization of members, economic interdependence declining Cultural Decline: Familism has weakened for self-fulfillment

What are two of the most powerful predictors of divorce?

Education and Age at marriage

What factors, according to Thornton, may increase the acceptability of separation and divorce and why?

Education, labor force participation and the rise in women's real wages

What is Popenoe's central argument?

Family decline since 1960 has been extraordinarily steep, and its social consequences serious, especially for children

What is Thornton's main question?

How people's attitude toward separation and divorce has been changed

What constitutes a pure relationship?

Individualism and deinstitutionalization

What is Reiss' critique of Murdock's approach?

It should be clear that this "universal, cross-cultural" approach is not at all presented as the only approach to an understanding of the family. Rather, it is viewed as but one essential approach. Research dealing with important but not universal functions is just as vital, as is empirical work within one culture.

What is Thornton's main observation as a result of this study?

Marital dissolution

Cherlin notes the demographic trends in 10 key areas regarding the family. Choose at least three of these areas and discuss Cherlin's findings.

Marriage: - Median age for first marriage increased - College educated more likly to get marries than less educated, but will delay marrying Divorce: - Divorce rates are diverging by education - Couples with college degrees have lower probability of divorce Aging: - Families have longer life expectancies and better health, so they're available as support for children and grandchildren

Conflict Theory

Marxist theory: Capitalist system shapes other social institutions, which in turn helps consolidate capitalist system. Society also fights and competes with each other for scarce resources available. Engles: nuclear family was result of rise of private property, brought with it problem of inheritence​ Foucault: all social relations are produced by "power," with groups in power creating themselves by sonstituting​ other groups as "other" Throne: feminism has contributed to sociological theories ​of the family. Feminists have challenged​ ideology of "the monolithic family," which has elevated the nuclear family as the only legitimate force Marxist feminist theory: centers on forces and realtions of reprodictions, how nuclear family leads to exploitation of woman under capitalism. Rich: a culture of "compulsory heterosexuality" underpins nuclear families, argues no reasons penetrative sex is natural while others sex is not

What were some key aspects of the Native American family, and what were some of the effects of European colonization on these families?

Native American family: - Kinship system: provided system of assigning family members specific roles in the community. Rules and marital alliances regulated individual's place in overall production and established patterns in the individual's interactions with others - Saw children as community responsibility - Individuals expected to marry outside their group to increase social cooperation - Marriage and residence rules also organized division of labor by age and gender European influence: - Massive epidemics that killed majority of their group's members, devastated kin networks and disrupted social continuity - Europeans tried to westernize them through revival movement, where they tries to adapt their family systems and religious values to their own - Native American groups were either exterminated or driven on to marginal land that did not support traditional methods of social organization and subsistence

What is Collier's main argument?

Rather than think of the ideal family as a world we lost, it is important for us to recognize that contemporary families are unlikely to fulfill our modern nurturant needs

What key factor provides a source of traditional family values? Discuss at least one example noted from the text.

Religious involvement provides a source of traditional family values, individuals with high commitment to religious activities have fewer divorces (McCarthy)

what are Murdocks 4 functions? Examples

Socialization: Teaches children the norms and values of society to keep society going Economic cooperation: Pools resources for all family members to share Reproduction: Helps provide new members of society (children) Sexual relations: family provides stable sexual relationships for adults and controls the sexual habits of its members

What does Laslett argue is a more accurate description of the twentieth-century family as compared to its historical predecessor?

Structural and normative support for privacy within the family

Are you more likely to support the structuralist-functionalist's view of the family or the Victorian evolutionists view? Explain your answer using examples and evidence from the readings.

Structural functionalist view makes sense if you subtract the concept of gender roles, and think of it in terms of roles that need to be fulfilled, disregarding the persons gender. - Parsons talks about the benefits of structural functionalism, however, his view includes gender roles - Coontz discusses how different genders and still fulfill these roles within a family -Collier discusses how these functions will have to be met by someone in the child's life, regardless of whether a parents it not present, so gender can be disregarded.

Structuralist-functionalist view of the family vs. Victorian evolutionists view of the family

Structuralist-functionalist: each member of the family has a function within the family, and these families are what makeup society Victorian Evolutionist: that families change by the product of various social forms, and the relationships of different kin are going to be different in different social orders

What is enforceable trust and why is it regarded as a benefit of marriage?

The influence family and friends to enforce the agreements you have made with a partner Advantage is public commitment

What does Cherlin mean by deinstitutionalization?

There are new types of families have occurred such as same-sex-marriage and cohabitation. New types of families lead to dissolve original type of marriage norm